B

Backdoor – Making a hand other than the one that was intended. For Example: J-10 of hearts with a flop of A-5-6 of hearts. The turn and river are K and Q of clubs. You have made a backdoor straight rather than the intended flush.

Backraise – A re-raise from a player who originally called.

Bad Beat – When a hand that is favourite to win loses unluckily.

Bankroll – The total amount of money you have to play Poker.

Bet – To place chips into the pot on your turn.

Bet the Pot – To place a bet to the value of the pot.

Bicycle/Bike – A low straight: A-2-3-4-5, also known as ‘the wheel’.

Big Blind – The larger of two blinds typically used in a hold’em game.

Big Slick – A nickname for pocket A-K.

Blank – A board card that does not seem to affect the standings in the hand.

Blind – The bets that must be placed by the players directly to the left of the dealer. The blinds are posted before any cards are dealt.

Blind Raise – When a player raises without looking at their cards.

Bluff – To make other players believe you have a better hand than you do by betting or raising.

Board – The cards that are dealt face-up in a Poker game for all players to see. Also known as the Community Cards – the flop, the turn, and the river cards together.

Boat – A Full House.

Bottom Pair – When a player uses the lowest card on the flop to make a pair. For Example: you have A-5 pocket cards and the flop is K-10-5, you have flopped bottom pair.

Broadway – An ace-high straight: A-K-Q-J-10.

Bring-In – A forced bet made in the first round of betting by the player dealt the lowest card showing in 7-card Stud.

Bring It In – To start the betting on the first round.

Bubble – The player who is unfortunate to finish the game of Poker in the place before any cash is paid out.

Bullets – A pair of Aces.

Bump – To raise.

Burn – To discard the top card from the deck face down. This is done between each betting round before putting the next community card down. This is done to prevent players recognising or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.

Button – A round disk, also known as the dealer button, used to indicate the (nominal) dealer where there is a house dealer. It is moved from player to player in a clockwise direction after each hand.

Buy-In – The minimum amount of money needed to enter a Poker game or tournament.

C

Call – To put into the pot an amount of money equal to the most recent bet or raise. The term ‘see’ (as in “I’ll see that bet”) is considered colloquial.

Calling Station – A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn’t raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to see in your game.

Cap – To put in the last raise on a betting round. This is typically the third or fourth raise.

Case – The last card of a certain rank in the deck. For Example: The Flop J-8-3; I’ve got pocket Jacks and you’ve got pocket 8’s. The case eight falls on the river to beat and he beats my full house.

Case Chips – A player’s last chips.

Cash Games – Also known as Ring Games. This is where you play with actual money as opposed to chips. There is no blind structure or no pre-determined time limit. You can come and go as you please. If you run out of chips you can simply re-buy chips and carry on playing.

Cash Out – To leave a game and convert your chips into cash.

Check – To not bet with the option to call or raise later in the round. Equivalent to betting zero money.

Check-Raise – To check and then raise when the player behind you bets. It was known to be unethical but is now an accepted Poker strategy.

Chip Leader – The player currently h olding the most chips in a tournament.

Chop – To return the blinds to the players who posted them when no other players call in the hand. It also means to ‘split the pot’.

Cold Call – Calling but not raising when faced with more than a single action. For Example: An opponent bets, another raises and you call – you have Cold Called.

Collusion – A form of cheating involving co-operation between two or more players.

Complete Hand – A hand that is defined by all five cards. For Example: a straight, a flush or a full house.

Connector - A hold’em starting hand in which two cards are one apart in rank. For Example: K-Q or 6-7.

Continuation Bet – A bet made after the flop by a player who took the lead in the pre-flop betting.

Counterfeit – To make your hand less valuable because of the board cards that duplicate it. For Example: you have 8-7. The flop brings 9-J-10 so you have a straight. The turn brings 8 making your hand virtually worthless.

Crying Call – A call that you make expecting to lose, but feel you must make because of the pot odds.

D

Dealer – The person who handles the cards and physically distributes the cards. When there is a house or automatic dealer (Online Poker), the assumed dealer is represented by a disk known as ‘the button’ which travels clockwise around the table.

Deuce/Deuces – 2 spot card/pair of two’s.

Dog – Shortened form of underdog.

Dominated Hand – A hand that is okay to play but tend to lose against similar bigger hands. For Example: K-3 vs K-Q.

Down Card – Hole cards, or cards that are dealt face down.

Draw – To play a hand that is not yet good, but could become so if the right cards come. Usually a straight or flush.

I

Implied Odds – The pot odds calculated by a player assuming the results of the betting for the remainder of the hand.

Inside Straight – Four cards that require another between the top and bottom card to complete the straight. For Example: Hole Cards are 9-5, Flop is 2-7-6 (you have an inside straight draw) and the turn is 8. You have made an inside straight.

J

K

Kicker – An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For Example: You have A-K and your opponent has A-Q and the flop is A-10-6. You both have a pair of Aces but you have a King kicker so win the hand.

L

Late Position – The position in the round of betting where the player is one of the last to act.

Lay Down – To show your hand during showdown. Also means to fold.

Limit Poker – Poker played with a fixed betting amount.

Limp In – To call in late position.

Live Blind – A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The ‘live’ means those players still have the option of raising when the betting gets round to them.

Live Hand – A hand that could still win the pot.

Loose – A style of play in which is characterised by playing many hands; i) Loose-passive means playing a hand but not betting or raising, ii) Loose-aggressive means playing many hands and typically betting and raising.

P

Passive – A style of play where a player will check and call rather than bet or raise.

Pay Off – To call on the final round of betting when a player may or may not think they have the best hand, but the pot odds justify a call.

Picture Cards – Face cards (Jack, Queen, King).

Play the Board – In Flop games when your best five card hand is made up by the board. If you play the board the best you can do is split the pot with the remaining players.

Pocket – Another term for hole cards.

Pocket Pair – A hold’em starting hand with two cards of the same rank making a pair.

Pocket Rockets – A pair of Aces in the hole.

Position – Where a player is seated in relation to the dealer, therefore establishing that players place in the betting order.

Post – To put in a blind bet if you have just sat down in a cardroom game or if you missed the blind.

Pot – The money or chips in the centre of the table that players are trying to win.

Pot-Committed – When you feel you can no longer fold because you have so many chips committed to the pot.

Pot-Limit – A version of the game where a player can only bet up to the amount in the pot.

Pot Odds – The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount of money you must put in the pot to continue playing.

Pre-Flop – When players have been dealt their pocket cards but the flop is yet to take place. It is also a round of betting.

Probe Bet – A bet placed after the flop if you are not sure where you stand. You can place a bet, if your opponent folds you have won with a probe bet. If your opponent raises it is likely they have a good hand.

Protect – To keep your hand or chip on your cards to prevent them from being fouled or accidentally mucked by the dealer. Also to invest more money in the pot so blind money you’ve already put in isn’t wasted.

Short-Handed – A game of Poker is considered to be short handed when there a fewer than six players at the table.

Short Stack – A stack of chips that is much smaller than your opponents around the table.

Showdown – The showdown occurs when all betting has ceased and the players must reveal their hands to see who has won.

Side Pot – A separate pot created to deal with the situation when a player goes All-in.

Sit and Gos (STT) – A Poker tournament with no scheduled starting time that starts when all places are filled. Normally ten seat or six seat tournaments. Also known as Single Table Tournaments.

Slow Play – To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot and increase the pot value. This is the opposite of bluffing.

Small Blind – The smaller of the two forced bets used in certain variants of Poker including Texas Hold’em and Omaha. It is usually half the size of the big blind and is posted by the player immediately to the left of the dealer.

Smooth Call – To call rather than raise an opponent’s bet.

Split Pot – If two or more hands are tied at the showdown then the pot is split equally between the winning hands.

Split Two Pair – When you have a two pair hand made up with one of your hole cards and one of the community cards. For Example: Hole cards are K-J and the flop is K-J-6.

Squeeze Bet – A bet or raise intended to extract money from someone who’s very unlikely to win the pot.

Stack – The amount of chips a player has in front of them in tournaments or at cash tables.

Starting Hand – The cards you are dealt at the beginning of the hand. In Texas Hold’em it will be your two hole cards; in Omaha it is four hole cards; in 7-Card Stud it is two face down cards and one face up. The strength of your starting hand usually determines if you fold or play.

Steal – A bluff in late position. Players on the button will raise when only the blinds are left to try and steal the hand. Also, players in late position may raise when the rest of the table have checked, with or without a good hand.

Steam – Reckless play following a bad beat. Also known as Tilt.

Steel Wheel – A straight flush Ace to Five. This is considered the optimum hand in Omaha Hi / Lo.

Straight – A five card poker hand containing five cards of any suit, in sequential order. The highest card in the Straight is used to describe it. For Example: 7-8-9-10-J would be a Jack-High Straight.

Straight-Flush – A five card poker hand containing five cards of the same suit, in sequential order. The highest card in the Straight-Flush is used to describe it. A Straight-Flush is the ranked second only to a Royal Flush, beating Four-of-a-Kind. For Example: 3-4-5-6-7 of diamonds would be a Seven-High Straight-Flush.

T

Table Stakes – A rule in Poker where a player can bet with the amount of money they had at the start of the hand. They cannot go back into their pocket for more money. If a player runs out of money, a side pot is created in which they have no interest.

Tell – A clue or hint that a player unwittingly gives to reveal the strength of their hand.

Texas Hold’em – A form of poker online in which players use five community cards and two hole cards to make the best five-card Poker hand.

Three-of-a-Kind – Three cards of the same rank plus two unmatched cards to make a five-card Poker hand. For Example: 6d-6h-6c.

Tight – A conservative playing very few hands, entering the betting with only the best starting hands.

Tilt – To play recklessly or emotionally after suffering bad luck or a bed beat. When a player ‘goes on tilt’ they lose their discipline and more often than not, their chips.

Top Pair – A pair with the highest card on the flop. For Example: If you have A-Q and the flop comes Q-10-4. You have flopped Top Pair. See also Second Pair.

Top Set – The highest possible Trips. For Example: You have J-J and the flop comes J-8-9. You have flopped Top Set.

Top Two – Two pair, with your hole cards pairing the two highest cards on the board. For Example: You have A-9 and the flop comes A-4-9. You have flopped Top Two.

Trips – Three-of-Kind where one of your hole cards connect with two cards on the flop.

Turn – The fourth card dealt to the board in Texas Hold’em and Omaha. It is also known as Fourth Street.

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